Frontline philanthropy: Nonprofit aid stepped up in Helene's wake
Jack Snyder illustration
In the wake of two devastating floods just three years apart, Western North Carolina’s resiliency didn’t come from government agencies. While FEMA and state emergency teams provided vital aid, three regional nonprofits — Dogwood Health Trust, Mountain Projects and The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina — stepped beyond their missions to fill critical gaps.
These organizations aren’t disaster response agencies, yet after Tropical Storm Fred in 2021 and Hurricane Helene in 2024, they made targeted investments that helped families, community groups and small businesses survive and begin rebuilding. That work continues, but as climate change drives more frequent and intense storms, their improvised role raises questions about sustainability.
This series examines where formal recovery efforts fell short and how these three philanthropic organizations responded — what they did, how they did it and why they may not be able to do it again. Because there will be a next time.
As public institutions strain, communities may lean more on nonprofits, but if they’re expected to keep showing up, these organizations need more than gratitude — they need structure, funding and lasting support.
Beyond Bureaucracy: When Helene exposed government failures, nonprofits stepped in
As on any other rainy late summer morning in Southern Appalachia, the sun rose over densely wooded, knobby green peaks cloaked in a thick downy mist.
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Shut up and listen: Dogwood Health Trust usues local ties to assess Helene's aftermath
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Pushing through troubled waters: Mountain Projects saves lives after Helene, but sustainability questions remain
Michelle Parker hadn’t finished unpacking the last of her belongings that had survived Tropical Storm Fred in August 2021 when her home was destroyed by Hurricane Helene September 27, 2024. Within three years, two devastating floods had displaced her and her husband Jeff.
Jeff had broken his leg before Helene, and they had nowhere to go after, so the couple asked around for a camper. It was Mountain Projects — a nonprofit improving social, educational, and quality-of-life conditions of those living in poverty in Haywood and Jackson counties — that stepped in to help, in no small part due to the group’s deep roots in the community.
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